Attorney General Jason Miyares has announced that he has joined 15 other state attorneys general in a letter criticizing the Biden Administration’s new regulatory proposal restricting federal grants for public charter schools.
In a letter to the U.S. Department of Education, the attorneys general argue two of the proposed changes to the Charter School Program (“CSP”) would decrease the education opportunities for students in areas with underperforming schools. Under a proposed community impact analysis requirement, an applicant trying to open or expand a charter school must demonstrate demand through over-enrollment in local public schools, failing to consider evidence of demand for high quality education due to poor performance rather than over-enrollment. Additionally, a proposed partnership priority unfairly penalizes charter schools who compete with local school districts and gives low-performing public schools a veto over funding for local charter schools.
Attorney General Miyares said that “No two children are the same so it’s important to have educational diversity and options that work best for each student. The success and availability of charter schools in the United States is fundamental to parental rights. Parents know what is best for their children, and charter schools provide families unhappy with the existing local public schools an alternative. Any effort to weaken the charter school system will be damaging to young Americans nationwide who want a different option for education.”
The Charter School Program’s purpose is to provide more education opportunities for all children in the United States. The program is “intended to provide an alternative to low-performing schools in order to improve education, not merely to supplement offerings by traditional public schools,” the letter states.
The attorneys general argue changing the preferences for funds will inevitably decrease the total funding awarded to charter schools that compete with underperforming public schools
The letter was led by Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor and Attorney General Miyares was joined by Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah.
Read the full letter HERE